Logan H. Westbrooks is widely recognized as one of the central figures responsible for opening the doors of the music industry to black artists and executives. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1955 and obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1961 from Lincoln University (Missouri). After working for a short time as a merchandising representative for the Johnson Publishing Company (1963-1965), Westbrooks gained his initial introduction to the music industry by working for various divisions of the RCA Victor Distributing Corporation in Des Plaines, IL (1965-1967). He was hired by the Capitol Record Distribution Corporation in 1967 as the company's first African American territory salesman for their Chicago market, where he was responsible for promoting albums by black, country, and pop artists. In 1968, he was promoted to Regional Promotion Manager for the Midwest, with sole responsibility for promoting and securing airplay for all of Capitol's black music releases throughout the major urban centers of the region.

In 1970, Westbrooks left Capitol Records to serve as National (R&B) Promotion Director for Mercury Records in Chicago where he handled releases for artists such as Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, Melba Moore, Erroll Garner, and Buddy Miles. In November 1971 he moved to CBS Records, becoming the company's first Director of Special Markets (i.e., their newly created black music division). In his book The Anatomy of a Record Company: How to Survive in the Record Business (1981), Westbrooks described his primary responsibility within CBS as the creation of "a black marketing staff to penetrate the black market." By May of 1972, he had marketed a string of number one R&B hits for CBS including "Back Stabbers" by the O'Jays, "If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and "Me and Mrs. Jones" by Billy Paul. He also served as a liaison between CBS and Harvard during the creation of Harvard's infamous report, "Study of the Soul Music Environment Prepared for Columbia Record Group" (1972), which was commissioned by Columbia as part of its efforts to capture the black consumer market.

Under Westbrooks' leadership, Columbia grew from having almost no black product in 1971 to being a leader on the black music scene by 1974—a move that included the creation of an official black music division; strengthening relations with Philadelphia International (corporate home of the songwriting and record production powerhouses, Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff); and the acquisition of distribution deals with Stax, Invictus, and T-Neck Records. Beginning in 1974, Westbrooks spearheaded CBS's efforts to explore potential African markets and was named Director of Special Markets for Columbia Records International as well as Managing Executive of CBS Africa (Paris, France).

After working for three years to locate potential African artists with stateside appeal and to promote a foothold for Columbia in West Africa, Westbrooks left his position at CBS for California where he served as Vice President of Marketing for Soul Train Records (1976-1978). In 1978, he launched his own label, Source Records, producing artists such as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers, Rose Banks (sister of Sly Stone), and Travis Bigg (performer on several Isaac Hayes albums).

Following the close of Source Records in 1983, Westbrooks shifted his focus to philanthropy by founding the Helping Hands Home for Boys, which he operated along with his wife, Geri, for fifteen years before selling it to Boys Town USA in 1998. During this time he also became a part-time lecturer at California State University, owned and operated Westbrooks Management (1994-1996), worked as a real estate developer, served briefly as Vice President and General Manager of Black Radio Exclusive (BRE) magazine, and became a religious leader in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and pastor of Faith Temple in Azusa, CA.

Throughout his career, Westbrooks has paved the way for the black music industry executives who followed him and has been instrumental in promoting over 25 platinum and gold records. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Memphian Award, a Distinguished Alumni of Lincoln University, a member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Hall of Fame, and a former Ambassador for the 1997 Annual African Music Festival for Education in Senegal. He has been featured in Respect Yourself, a 2007 PBS documentary on the origin of Stax Records, and on "Make It Funky," the eighth episode of Experience Music Project's PBS series, Rock & Roll.